When I visit a place I like to read up on the history. Before arriving in Budapest, I did not have time to refresh my memory of the rich history of the country.  I picked up a copy of one of the best books available in English about Hungarian history -- “Hungary” by Zoltán Halász and András Balla and translated by Zsuzsa Béres.

Particularly interested in the Altaic influence centuries ago by the Mongols and Turks, I began with the chapter about spring 1241 when the first sentries of dreaded Mongol forces appeared riding tiny, long-haired horses and were wearing iron-plated armor made of leather straps. Halász and Balla say after provoking and harassing the defending forces with feigned attacks, Batu Khan’s forces conquered the northern part of the country. The authors write how when winter set in, the Mongol forces crossed the ice of the frozen Danube with ease and the whole of Transdanubia, and the land west of the Danube was at their mercy. The Mongols occupied up to the western border. The authors quote a German chronicler: “After three hundred years, Hungaria was no more.”

Skipping over to the Ottoman Turks I read about the spread of the Ottoman Empire in every direction by the mid 1500s. Though the Ottomans had their sights set on Vienna, led by Suleiman II they invaded Hungary and marched towards Vienna. Rapid and extensive growth for the empire caused administrative problems, and eventually stagnation set in. By 1699, with the signing of the Treaty of Karlowitz in Karlovci, the Ottomans ceded Hungary to Europe.

The Mongols and Ottomans left behind many traces of their own cultures. You can see this in the areas of folk dance, textiles, costumes, foods, architecture, baths and language.

Before I share some of the traces I want to point out that just like everything else in the world, theories change as well.

Maybe you have heard the theory about the Turkish and Hungarian languages being distantly related. When I was at university this notion was widely accepted by linguists; however, it has more recently been rejected for different reasons.

Practically speaking, a Hungarian-Romanian friend, Kinga, who lived in Turkey for a few years, she told me that she found studying Turkish fairly easy. She frequently made comments about the similarities between her mother tongue, Hungarian, and Turkish.

 Also you’ll see that Turkish rule between 1544 and 1686 further expanded the Hungarian vocabulary to include Turkish words. You’ll find on the link below this example: “I have a lot of small apples in my pocket.” It is very similar in these two languages:

Turkish: Cebimde cok kücük elma var  Hungarian: Zsebemben sok kicsi alma van.

Here is the link: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/language/about/hungarian.html

Moving on…

When you visit Budapest take time to stroll through the Great Market Hall. I thought I was back in Turkey. Situated in the Pest end of the Liberty Bridge the huge Great Market Hall, which is a large neo-Gothic hall, is one of the finest market halls in Europe. You can find an abundance of meat traders, fish stalls, poultry stalls and vegetable, fruit, cheese and butter stands.

I was surprised to see the vegetables stuffed with rice and some meat and a variety of dried fruits, pickles and nuts. I went to a local hole-in-the-wall restaurant for a bite to eat and saw familiar dishes such as stew meat dishes.

Under Turkish rule, coffee was introduced to Hungarian society and was known as the “black soup.” It comes in a tiny cup with some of the darkest, strongest, sweetest, freshest coffee I have ever tasted, except in Turkey.

Budapest is world famous for medicinal baths. The true bathing culture originates as far back as the 16th and 17th centuries during the Turkish occupation. The bath houses are masterpieces of Ottoman architecture. Turks feel right at home!

“A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” -- Moslih Eddin Saadi